Improvement in watches



A RLPBABODY. 4 WATCH.

No. 34,978'. Patented Apr. 15, mz.

Dave/1, on

' UNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE.

ROSWELL L. PEABODY, NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,978, dated April 15,1862.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that L'RoswELL L. PEABODY,

of the city, county', and State of New York,`

, constructing the stud in which the fixed `or outer end ofthejx'air-spring is held; thirdly, in an improved construction of thestatt of the balanc'e,and, fourthlyi`n a manner of setting the hands. yY

.The firstv part of my invention is a method of giving a longer arc ofvibration'tothe balance as well as of giving an impulse in eachdirection. y

Figure I is a top orplan view showing the balance and the lever oftheescapement, and Fig. II isan elevation showing the same with other parts'partly in section.

.At 'a .is the axis or stal of the balance.

is the roller, and c the lever-arm.

At d is a pin rising vertically from thearm c, and whenl that arm is insuch position that ifspin d is in line with the axes a and f of thebalance andthe lever the pin should be within' the periphery oftherollerb. To per-v ymit'this two notches z' and z'" are cut in the edgeof the roller.- The lever-arm terminates in two prongs, as shown in Fig.I, and'on the lower side of the roller is a single pin e, placed midwaybetween the notches and projecting downward far enough to engage theprongs.` The notches in the `edge of the roller are toA be cut at suchdistance from each other as will permit the pin on the llever to enterone of them when the pin on the roller, by striking against the insideof that one of vthe prongs which will be in the line of the axes a andf, ,or nearly so;l has moved the lever far enough toleffect theunlocking of the palletsl of the escapement. Hence the distance must begoverned by the length of the head of the lever-arm and that length bythe throw of the lever. v v n The operation of this part will be thatwhen the balance is returning in the direction iudicated in Fig. I itspin e will on reaching the prong c move the lever to commence areturn-throw. The pin d on the lever then enters the notch z', and as bythat time the pallets will have lbeen unlocked this pin then gives theimpulse, throwing the balance onward to 'complete its arc of vibration.On the return of the balance the lever will beat rest onl the oppositeside at the extent of its throw.4 The pin e will therefore strike theother prong c of the lever and thepn d will consequently enter the othernotch i of the roller, thus giving an impulse in the opposite direction.l

The second. part of my invention will be described with reference toFigs. 1I and III. In Athis the. outer coil of `the hair-spring is seenat g, the arm of the regulator at h, and a stud at k. As usuallyconstructed, there are upon the arm h two small pins pro-`'ectinuf'downward one on. each side of and near to the hair-spring, theregulating being effected by moving the arm which carries those pinsnearer to or farther from the stud in which the outer end of the springis secured. As is well known, there is a degree of vibration'in thatportion of the spring ly ing between the stud and the pis, and thisvibration is to be avoided if extreme 'accuracy is desired. I prevent itby making, in= stead of the pins, a permanent and compara; tively-breadrest onv the arm, side of which next the spring is 'to have the propercurve due to the shape of the spring, and placing a broad sliding piecen om-the arm, the inner end of which is also. curved to t against thespring. This sliding piece is secured in close contact with thehairspring byia set-screw (seen in dotted line at n) clamping it againstthe permanent rest,-

m, an'd when the position of the regulator is to be changed theset-screw must be started and the slide moved out a little, to be againsetup close when the regulator is in the desired position. The spring isthus held between surfaces4 which finclose an arc or portion Y ofseveral degrees of the spring, and hence no motion will take placebetween this as at m, thel point and the stud. Instead of the iixedstud, in which it is very difficult to drill the the hole so that thehair-spring will not bc deflected, out of the proper. position due toits' curve, I employ a small shortv cylinder having the proper holedrilled through from side to side and parallel with its ends, to receivethe endl ofthe hair-spring and the locking-pin. This cylinder is seen atk, Figs. II and III, and separately in Fig. VI, which is an enlargedview in. perspective of thecylinder or stud, and is held in place bymaking a shallow countersink in the cock. of the balance and 4placin ganother smaller cocky o against the lower end to retain it inl position,as clearly shown in Fig. II. Thestud is thus free to turn around, so astoV adapt it-selt"A to the proper position which should be taken by thespring, andwhen the hair-spring is put in place and the'studl has takenits due position it will be retained there by screwing the piece o irmlyinto place. If the upper cockie too thin to admit of being eountersunk,as in some kinds of watches lit will be, a pin may be made on theupperend of the stud,vwhich pin, in-

, serted into a hole in the cock, will be suffi cient' Ito holdthe studin place when o is screwed tightly down.

The third part of my invention is an improvement in the manner ofconstructingthe staff of the balance, whereby it maybe more readilyrepaired when a pin is broken, as well as have the several parts whichare attached toit more accurately fitted. Heret-o- -fore this staff hasbeen a single piece of steelupon which was fitted, first, the balance,above that the collet," and below the balance the roller. When all ofthese have been duly adjusted, the pivots on the ends are to be turned0E; and as these are very delicate they are frequently broken,particularly if the watch is dropped. To be properly repaired an entirenew staff should be put in, though, as is well known to the trade, therepairing is often done with much less work. I construct it by making ashort tube of steel, .as seen at p, Figs. I and II, and thisis to havethe balance fitted upon it, although I prefer to make it and the balancefrom one piece of met-al. The collet and the roller are then to beiitted on'. The bore of the tube should be slight-ly tapering, and inthis is' to be inserted a rod of steel r, made to iit closely, upontheends of which the pivots can then be turned. It one of thesebecomebroken the piece Ir maylreadily be removed, a new one inserted, and pinsturned on it, without requiring any new adjustment of the' other parts.l

The fourth part of my invention is a method of sett-ing the handswhereby I am enabled to make the center shaft solid and yet to set themfrom the back. I place at. one side an additional shaft s, Figs. IV andV, which passes through both plates of the watch, and having at the backa square to take on a key, as at t, and on the other end a toothedwheelu, of such size that .it willbe capable of gear- `ing into the wheelfuof theusual train, which reduces theA motionxfromthe minute to the`hour hand.- i Thusby turning the shaft Sthe motion will be communicatedto the handys.

I .claiml. The combination of the unlocking-pin eA with the prongs ofthe lever, and of the im# pulse-pin d with the notches in the roller, inthe manner and for the purposes substantially as set forth.

2. The manner of securing the hair-spring to the regulator by means ofthe iixed and sliding pieces lm and n, between which it may be firmlyAclamped, as set forth.

3. The use or employment of the cylindrical and self-adjusting stud la,when said stud is secured upon the under side of the cock of thebalance, in the' manner substantially as .set forth.

.4. Constructing the stai by making Ait in two parts, upon ,one of whichthe roller, &c.,

is iitted, and upon the other the pins areturned, for the purposes andin the manner substantially as described.

5. 'ihesupplementary shaft s, in combination with the gear of the centershaft for setting` the hands, as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

RoswELL L. PEABODY.

W it-ucsscs:

J. P. PrRssoN, S. ll. MAYNARD.

